Hello again---
This is Cameron. I' m the one with the original post regarding my thesis
and its focus on feminism and science. First I want to say thank you to
all who wrote me personally and to those who posted in this group. In all
i received approximately 15 responses. thanks.
Many of you noted the broad area which I was covering and I
apologize for this but I wasn't sure of the response, so I wanted to make
it a broad request for info. To be more specific and to continue this
thread... I am looking at biology textbooks, specifically the human
reproduction chapter. I have been intrigued when looking at biology
textbooks which describe the sperm and egg meeting. Many of them read
something like this:
" hunderds of thousands of sperm swim up the fallopian tubes and
search of the single egg. Then when the sperm find the egg they swarm
around it as if magnetized, and all attack the egg until one finally
penetrates it..."
This story is a common one. I was rather disturbed when thinking
about it as it almost sounds like a gang-rape sequence. The I began to
look at
how the egg is seen as passive and the sperms viewed as active. This was
my original perception and focus, how men in society are viewed as active
and women viewed as passive. I began to think about the story told here
and the rhetorical implications that come out of such a story which can
perpetuate the problem.
I hope that sheds a better light on my take on the issue.
All of your reading suggestions have been helpful, and additional
one which I have found to aid me in my reseacrh is the early work of
Nancy Tuana.
Any positions on this issue? I'd love to hear how those in the
biology community feel about this (remember I am based in a Communication
department-- and I usually look at the rhetorical implications of
narrative).
--cameron
Cameron smith
department of Communications
Chico State University
Chico, CA 95929-0502
